SEM_OPEN(3) | Library Functions Manual | SEM_OPEN(3)

# NAME

sem_open, sem_close, sem_unlink — named semaphore operations

# LIBRARY

POSIX Real-time Library (librt, -lrt)

# SYNOPSIS

#include <semaphore.h>

sem_t *
sem_open(const char *name, int oflag, ...);

int
sem_close(sem_t *sem);

int
sem_unlink(const char *name);

# DESCRIPTION

The sem_open() function creates or opens the named semaphore specified by name. The returned semaphore may be used in subsequent calls to sem_getvalue(3), sem_timedwait(3), sem_trywait(3), sem_wait(3), sem_post(3), and sem_close().

The following bits may be set in the oflag argument:

O_CREAT
  Create the semaphore if it does not already exist.

  The third argument to the call to sem_open() must be of type mode_t and specifies the mode for the semaphore. Only the S_IWUSR, S_IWGRP, and S_IWOTH bits are examined; it is not possible to grant only “read” permission on a semaphore. The mode is modified according to the process's file creation mask; see umask(2).

  The fourth argument must be an unsigned int and specifies the initial value for the semaphore, and must be no greater than SEM_VALUE_MAX.

O_EXCL
  Create the semaphore if it does not exist. If the semaphore already exists, sem_open() will fail. This flag is ignored unless O_CREAT is also specified.

The sem_close() function closes a named semaphore that was opened by a call to sem_open().

The sem_unlink() function removes the semaphore named name. Resources allocated to the semaphore are only deallocated when all processes that have the semaphore open close it.

# RETURN VALUES

If successful, the sem_open() function returns the address of the opened semaphore. If the same name argument is given to multiple calls to sem_open() by the same process without an intervening call to sem_close(), the same address is returned each time. If the semaphore cannot be opened, sem_open() returns SEM_FAILED and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

The sem_close() and sem_unlink() functions return the value 0 if successful; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

# ERRORS

The sem_open() function will fail if:

[EACCES]
  The semaphore exists and the permissions specified by oflag at the time it was created deny access to this process; or the semaphore does not exist, but permission to create it is denied.
[EEXIST]
  O_CREAT and O_EXCL are set but the semaphore already exists.
[EINTR]
  The call was interrupted by a signal.
[EINVAL]
  The sem_open() operation is not supported for the given name; or the value argument is greater than SEM_VALUE_MAX.
[ENAMETOOLONG]
  The name argument is too long.
[ENFILE]
  The system limit on semaphores has been reached.
[ENOENT]
  O_CREAT is not set and the named semaphore does not exist.
[ENOSPC]
  There is not enough space to create the semaphore.

The sem_close() function will fail if:

[EINVAL]
  The sem argument is not a valid semaphore.

The sem_unlink() function will fail if:

[EACCES]
  Permission is denied to unlink the semaphore.
[ENAMETOOLONG]
  The specified name is too long.
[ENOENT]
  The named semaphore does not exist.

# SEE ALSO

close(2), open(2), umask(2), unlink(2), sem_getvalue(3), sem_post(3), sem_trywait(3), sem_wait(3), sem(4)

# STANDARDS

The sem_open(), sem_close(), and sem_unlink() functions conform to ISO/IEC 9945-1:1996 (“POSIX.1”).

# HISTORY

Support for named semaphores first appeared in NetBSD 2.0.

# BUGS

This implementation places strict requirements on the value of name: it must begin with a slash (‘`/`’), contain no other slash characters, and be less than 14 characters in length not including the terminating null character.

February 29, 2012 | NetBSD 7.2